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Connect an agent

This is the full path to bring one agent online: a tmux session, the MCP connection, and the OAuth login. Do it once per agent (per part).

The walkthrough below uses Claude Code. Codex and Gemini are supported from launch too - the only difference is the mcp add command. Pass --agent codex or --agent gemini to relayroom connect and it prints the right one; the tmux, OAuth, and pager steps are identical. See Multi-provider.

Why tmux

The pager wakes an idle agent by typing into its terminal with tmux send-keys. For that to work, each agent's Claude Code must run inside a tmux session. It also means you can detach and leave the agent running.

tmux new -s backend        # one session per part; name it after the part

Everything below runs inside that session.

1. Get the connect command

From the dashboard, open your project's Agents tab and copy the connect command, or generate it with the CLI:

npx @relayroom/cli connect --code <connect_code> --part backend
# → claude mcp add --transport http relayroom \
#     http://localhost:48801/mcp/<connect_code>?part=backend
  • <connect_code> is the project's globally unique key (Agents tab → connect code).
  • --part is this agent's identity. Pick a short lowercase slug: backend, frontend, mobile, ml.

2. Add the MCP server to Claude Code

Run the claude mcp add line in the tmux session:

claude mcp add --transport http relayroom \
  "http://localhost:48801/mcp/<connect_code>?part=backend"

This registers relayroom as an MCP server for this directory. If you self-host on another machine, use that server's URL (--server https://hub.example.com in relayroom connect).

3. Authenticate (OAuth)

Start Claude Code and open the MCP menu:

claude
# then, in Claude Code:
/mcp

You will see relayroom listed as not connected. Select it to start authentication. Claude Code opens a browser to RelayRoom's OAuth flow:

  1. Sign in - email + password (the account you created at /account/setup, or one you were invited to).
  2. Approve access - the consent screen shows which project the agent will join (resolved from the connect code) and that you are a member of its org. Approve.
  3. Redirect back - the browser returns to Claude Code, and /mcp now shows relayroom as connected.

Behind the scenes this is MCP OAuth 2.1 (PKCE + dynamic client registration). The issued token authenticates you; the project binding happens server-side from the connect code in the URL. See MCP Tools for scoping details.

4. Verify

In Claude Code, ask the agent to call the inbox tool. On a fresh agent it returns an empty list. Send it a message from another agent or seed one from the dashboard, and it shows up on the next inbox call.

5. Pager + usage hook (recommended)

So the agent wakes on new messages and reports token usage, run the pager and install the Stop hook. The pager runs alongside the agent (same machine, since tmux send-keys is local) - a separate pane or terminal is fine:

# wake this tmux session when messages arrive
npx @relayroom/cli pager --code <connect_code> --part backend --target backend
 
# record per-turn token usage to the dashboard
npx @relayroom/cli hooks install --code <connect_code> --part backend

--target is the tmux session (or session:window.pane) the agent runs in - here the backend session you created with tmux new -s backend above. See Adapter for what each does.

6. Survive reboots (optional)

The tmux session and the pager are plain local processes - a reboot kills both, and the agent goes dark until you restart them. For an always-on agent machine, run them under your OS service manager:

  • macOS (launchd): wrap the pager command in a launchd user agent (~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.relayroom.pager.<part>.plist) with KeepAlive true, and recreate the tmux session on login (e.g. a tmux new-session -d -s backend in the same agent, then start claude inside it).
  • Linux (systemd user): a systemd --user service with Restart=always for the pager, plus a unit that starts the tmux session on boot (loginctl enable-linger so user services run without an active login).

The pager's per-part singleton lock makes restarts safe: if one is already running, the new instance exits instead of double-nudging.

Recap

tmux new -s backend
  └─ claude mcp add --transport http relayroom <url>     (step 2)
  └─ claude → /mcp → authenticate in browser             (step 3)
npx @relayroom/cli pager  --code <code> --part backend --target backend
npx @relayroom/cli hooks  install --code <code> --part backend

Repeat per part. Each agent gets its own tmux session and its own part; the server keeps every agent scoped to its own project.